Control of parallel battery utilization

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for allocating electrical current among battery sets connected in a substantially parallel configuration. A respective state of health is determined for each respective battery set in a plurality of battery sets. The respective state of health reflects a respective present amount of total energy able to be stored by each respective battery set relative to a specification of the respective battery set. A respective allocation of electrical current for each battery set in the plurality of battery sets is determined based on the respective state of health for each respective battery set. A current flow through each respective battery set is configured to its respective allocation of electrical current based on determining the respective allocation.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to controlling utilization ofauxiliary energy storage devices, and more particularly to controllingthe utilization of multiple batteries.

BACKGROUND

In electrical power systems, managing and balancing power consumption ata point in the system is able to use large rechargeable battery systemsto store and later provide electrical energy. These batteries are ableto be selected to provide electric power to the grid or a particularload or premises on the grid based upon a number of factors such aspower demand and load management factors. The rechargeable batterysystem includes inverters and a control system for coupling thebatteries to the grid and for controlling the charging and dischargingcycles of the batteries.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures where like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separateviews, and which together with the detailed description below areincorporated in and form part of the specification, serve to furtherillustrate various embodiments and to explain various principles andadvantages all in accordance with the present disclosure, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example operational context for the systems andmethods described herein;

FIG. 2 illustrates a rechargeable battery system block diagram,according to an example;

FIG. 3 illustrates a rechargeable battery system control process,according to an example;

FIG. 4 depicts an energy storage battery subsystem according, to oneexample;

FIG. 5 illustrates an electrical current division operation, accordingto an example; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram illustrating a controller, accordingto an example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As required, detailed embodiments are disclosed herein; however, it isto be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples andthat the systems and methods described below can be embodied in variousforms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosedherein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis forthe claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in theart to variously employ the disclosed subject matter in virtually anyappropriately detailed structure and function. Further, the terms andphrases used herein are not intended to be limiting, but rather, toprovide an understandable description.

The terms “a” or “an”, as used herein, are defined as one or more thanone. The term plurality, as used herein, is defined as two or more thantwo. The term another, as used herein, is defined as at least a secondor more. The terms “including” and “having,” as used herein, are definedas comprising (i.e., open language). The term “coupled,” as used herein,is defined as “connected,” although not necessarily directly, and notnecessarily mechanically. The term “configured to” describes hardware,software or a combination of hardware and software that is adapted to,set up, arranged, built, composed, constructed, designed or that has anycombination of these characteristics to carry out a given function. Theterm “adapted to” describes hardware, software or a combination ofhardware and software that is capable of, able to accommodate, to make,or that is suitable to carry out a given function.

The below described systems and methods control and manage rechargeablebattery systems that are used as auxiliary energy sources in electricalpower systems. In general, these systems and methods operate to manage anumber of batteries or battery sets that are each able to beindividually controlled or operated such that each battery or batteryset provides or accepts a determined amount of electrical energy and allbatteries or battery sets in some examples are able to be combined inparallel to appear to operate as a single battery.

The below descriptions described the operation of various examples thatcontrol rechargeable battery systems that store and retrieve energy inthe form of electrical energy in one or more batteries. The belowdescribed systems and method are also able to be used in conjunctionwith any energy storing device, such as other types of electrical energystorage devices. Further, it is clear that these examples are able tooperate with energy storage devices that are able to store energy forany amount of time.

In electrical power systems, energy storage systems are able to be largerechargeable battery systems that are able to be placed in desiredlocations in the electrical power distribution system. Theserechargeable battery systems are able to receive and store, and thenlater provide, electrical energy in order to manage and balance powerconsumption at those locations. These rechargeable battery systems areable to be controlled so as to provide electric power to the grid or toa particular load or premises on the grid based upon a number of factorssuch as power demand and load management factors. The rechargeablebattery systems in some examples also include inverters and controlsystems for coupling the batteries to the grid and for controlling thecharging and discharging cycles of the batteries. A cycle of providingelectrical energy to a battery in order to charge that battery, and thendrawing electrical energy from the battery to discharge the battery isreferred to herein as a “duty cycle.”

A large rechargeable battery system is able to be made up of a batterycombination that has two or more battery sets. In an example, a batteryset includes a configuration of one or more batteries that are connectedtogether and that are operated in some respects as a single battery. Aparticular battery set is able to have only one battery, or a batteryset is able to have any number of batteries that are connected in anysuitable arrangement to provide electrical power. A number of batterysets are able to be connected together with each other so that anincreased amount of electrical energy is available. In an example, abattery combination is able to include a number of battery sets that areconfigured to produce similar output voltages where all of the batterysets are connected in a substantially parallel arrangement so that eachbattery set receives or provides a portion of the electrical currentreceived or provided by the battery combination.

In the following discussion, the term battery capacity refers to amaximum amount of electrical energy that a particular battery is able tostore when it is fully charged. The battery capacity of a particularbattery degrades with usage and time. The percentage of degradation isreferred to a battery's “state of health” or SOH. As a battery ischarged and discharged and generally ages, its capacity will continuallydecrease. As a rechargeable battery is used, its capacity decreases dueto this degradation. Particular applications for rechargeable batteriesmay define a minimum battery capacity and when the battery degrades tothe point that its capacity is below this minimum level, that battery isno longer suitable for use in that application. When a particularbattery has degraded to the point that its capacity is equal to thatminimum battery capacity for its application, the battery is said tohave reached its “end-of-useful-life state of health.”

In a rechargeable battery system that has multiple battery sets, it isoften desirable for all batteries in the rechargeable battery system toreach their end-of-useful-life state of health at about the same time sothat all batteries in the system may be simultaneously replaced. If allbatteries in a system start at an equal state of health (e.g. 100%capacity), and the batteries are equally charged and discharged, theywill in general inherently reach their end-of-useful-life state ofhealth at about the same time.

In some applications, it is desirable to build a rechargeable batterysystem with a battery combination made up of batteries that are not allat equal states of health. For example, vehicle batteries fromelectrically powered vehicles such as electric or hybrid cars or othervehicles may reach a depletion level making them unacceptable forapplication in electric cars. In an example, such batteries are said tohave reached their “end of useful life for a vehicle application” stateof health. Although operational considerations may decide that thesebatteries are no longer suitable for a vehicle application, suchbatteries with that state of health may be suitable for use inrechargeable battery system to be used in other applications, such as ina power grid load management application. In an example, these batteriesare able to be repurposed for inclusion in such as rechargeable batterysystem that is used in a power grid load management application.

A battery that has been used in one application is able to be physicallyremoved from that application and become a repurposed battery that isassembled into a battery combination within a rechargeable batterysystem. In an example, a battery used to power an electrically poweredvehicle, which is an application that is different from exchangingelectrical current with an electrical power grid. Such a battery is ableto be removed from the electrically powered vehicle and repurposed tobecome a repurposed battery that is used to store energy and exchangeelectrical current with an electrical power grid.

In general, a battery combination is able to be assembled using a numberof battery sets where some of the battery sets have all new batteries,and other battery sets have repurposed batteries that have somedegradation in their state of health. In some of these examples, therepurposed batteries have reduced battery capacities at the time thatthe battery combination is assembled and the rechargeable battery systemwith that battery combination is put into service. For various reasons,the states of health of each battery set that includes such repurposedbatteries is able to vary significantly from one another when thesebattery sets are first assembled into one battery combination.

The below described systems and methods operate to more effectivelymanage a rechargeable battery system containing a battery combinationthat is assembled from a number of battery sets where the differentbattery sets in the battery combination are able to have a differentstate of health when the rechargeable battery system with that batterycombination is assembled and put into service. In an example, thecharging and discharging cycle for each battery set in the rechargeablebattery system is independently managed. The amount of energy exchangedwith each battery set in some examples is individually varied based onthe present state of heath, or the present capacity, of that batteryset. The amount of energy exchanged with a battery set includes theamount of electrical current provided to charge the battery set and theamount of electrical current drawn from the battery set.

The amount of energy exchanged with a particular battery set in anexample is based on the state of health of that battery set relative tothe other battery sets in the rechargeable battery system. In anexample, the amount of energy exchanged with each battery set in therechargeable battery system is controlled over all charging anddischarging cycles with the goal of causing all battery sets in therechargeable battery system to substantially reach end-of-useful-lifestate of health at about the same time. Because all battery sets in therechargeable battery system are operated in a manner that causes allbattery sets to reach their end-of-useful-live state of health at aboutthe same time, all batteries in the rechargeable battery system are ableto be replaced together.

In an example, a controller causes battery sets with higher states ofhealth to have more intense charge and discharge duty cycles thanbattery sets with lower states of health. In various examples, moreintense charge and discharge duty cycles are able to include chargingand discharging the battery set more often, at greater magnitudes, usingthe battery set in more intense manners, or combinations of these.

In an example, the state of health of each battery set is determined andmonitored at various times. In an example, the state of health of eachbattery set is determined and updated by processing during operation ofthe rechargeable battery system. In general, battery sets with any stateof health can be accommodated when assembling those battery sets into arechargeable battery system. The determined present state of health foreach battery set is used in an example during the operation of arechargeable battery system to determine the charge and discharge dutycycle to use for each battery set relative to the charge and dischargeduty cycle of other battery sets in the rechargeable battery system. Inan example, a controller tracks the state of health of each battery setas the battery sets cycle through their charge and discharge dutycycles. The determining and monitoring of the state of health of eachbattery set may be through any approach. In an example, the belowdescribed examples provide for a uniform depletion of battery sets thateach have variable states of health at the time of their installationinto their rechargeable battery system.

In an example, the battery combination within a rechargeable batterysystem is able to be assembled with batteries, battery sets, orcombinations of these that have different states of health at the timethe rechargeable battery system is assembled. For example, a batterycombination is able to be assembled with at least a first battery set,which has a first state of health, and a second battery set, which has asecond state of health that is different from the first state of health.In such an example this state of health at the time of assembly isconsidered in determining a respective duty cycle for each of thesebattery sets when operating the rechargeable battery system.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example operational context 100 for the systemsand methods described herein. The example operation context 100 is anexample of an electrical power “grid” that is used to provide electricalpower to consumer premises 172. The below described systems and methodsinclude storage subsystems, such as the illustrated energy storagesystem 122, that is able to be deployed to various locations within theelectrical power grid. In various examples, these energy storagesubsystems are or include rechargeable battery systems that are able tobe deployed at various points within an electrical power transmission ordistribution system. These energy storage systems 122 are able to, forexample, support load management or other operational goals. The exampleoperational context 100 depicts an energy storage system 122 that isdeployed to, and operates in conjunction with, a substation 120 in anelectrical power grid.

The example operational context 100 depicts a number of example powergeneration components 170. Illustrated are a combined cycle gasgenerator 102, a solar array farm 104, and a wind farm 106. In furtherexamples, operational contexts are able to include one power generationcomponent, multiple collocated power generation components, powergeneration components that are physically separated and supply a commonelectrical power transmission or distribution system, any one or morepower generation components, or combinations of these. These powergeneration components are able to be of any suitable type or design.

In the example operational context 100, electrical power generated byone or more power generation components is provided to a powertransmission system 110. The illustrated example operational context 100depicts a transmission connection 108 that couples one or more sourceswithin power generation components 170 to the power transmission system110. The transmission connection 108 and power transmission system 110in an example include suitable step-up transformers and long distancetransmission lines to convey the generated electrical power to remotepower distribution networks, other electrical power consumers, or both.

The illustrated power transmission system 110 provides electrical powerto a substation 120. The substation 120 includes transformers,protection devices, and other components to provide electrical power toa power distribution system 130.

In the example operational context 100, the substation 120 furtherincludes an energy storage system 122 that receives electrical energyfrom the substation in this example, stores that energy, and thenprovides the stored energy to the substation for delivery to the powerdistribution system 130. In an example, the energy storage system 122 isable to be controlled to, at different times, either selectively receiveand store electrical energy, or to provide stored electrical energy.Determining whether and how much electrical energy the energy storagesystem 122 is to receive or provide, or whether the energy storagesystem is not to exchange any electrical current, is able to becontrolled according to the operation needs such as supporting presentpower demands, supporting load management functions, or based on otherconsiderations.

The energy storage system 122 in an example is a rechargeable batterysystem that is assembled from a number of batteries or battery sets 124.The energy storage system 122 stores electric energy received from thetransmission system 110 and provides electric energy to a powerdistribution system 130. The energy storage system 122 may include aplurality of batteries or battery sets 124 that are assembled into anenclosure, such as a metal shipping container, for easy transportationand installation at a substation or other location.

An electrical power grid in general operates to deliver power producedby the generating components 170 to customer premises, such as theillustrated home 140 or office building 150. In general customerpremises are coupled to the power distribution system 130 and are ableto include any combination of residential, commercial or industrialbuildings.

A first vehicle 142 and a second vehicle 152 are examples ofelectrically powered vehicles. In an example, the first vehicle 142 orthe second vehicle 152 are able to be electric or hybrid vehicles thateach have batteries and may be used to commute between customer premisesor any other location. These electric or hybrid vehicles may furthercouple to the premises to through connectors 144, 154 to recharge theirbatteries for use in powering these electrical vehicles.

The battery in these electric or hybrid vehicles degrade over time andusage. The reduced total energy storage capacity of these degradedbatteries directly reduces the usable range of the vehicle. It isgenerally desired to replace the batteries in an electric or hybridvehicle when they degrade to a point that reduces the vehicle's usablerange to below an acceptable threshold. This point is referred to as anend of useful life for the battery in a vehicle application.

Although it may be desirable to replace batteries in an electric orhybrid vehicle when they reach a certain state of health, these degradedbatteries may have considerable usefulness when repurposed for use in anenergy storage system 122 within an electrical power grid. In anexample, degraded batteries from an electric or hybrid vehicles are ableto be removed and installed 160 into the energy storage system 122.Batteries installed in an energy storage system 122 for use in anelectrical power grid may be repurposed from any of a number ofapplications, such as batteries from electric or hybrid vehicleapplications. In addition to repurposed batteries, some electricalstorage systems may be assembled with some new batteries in addition torepurposed batteries.

Partially degraded batteries that are repurposed and installed 160 in anenergy storage system 122, however, will have varying states of healthdue use the degradation incurred by these repurposed batteries duringtheir prior applications. In order to improve the utility of an energystorage system 122 that is assembled with a number of repurposedbatteries that may have different states of health, the utilization ofeach battery or each set of batteries in the energy storage system isable to be individually managed so as to cause all of the batteries inthe energy storage system 122 to reach their end of useful life for anelectrical power grid application at about the same time. Suchmanagement will vary the amount of utilization of each of the componentbatteries or battery sets based on the present state of health of theparticular battery or battery set. Managing each battery or battery setin the energy storage system 122 in such a manner allows all batteriesin the energy storage system 122 to reach their individual end of usefullife for an electrical power grid application at the same time. Suchmanagement of the operation the energy storage system 122 increases theefficiency and cost effectiveness of replacing or rebuilding the energystorage system 122 because such replacement or rebuilding is performedwhen all of the batteries or battery sets within the energy storagesystem have reached their end of useful life.

FIG. 2 illustrates a rechargeable battery system block diagram 200,according to an example. The rechargeable battery system block diagram200 is an example of an energy storage system 122 and is able to beutilized as an auxiliary power source placed at any suitable location inan electrical power grid. In general, the rechargeable battery systemblock diagram 200 depicts a rechargeable battery system with a batterycombination that consists of a number of battery sets that are able tooperate in conjunction with one another to receive electrical energyfrom a source, store that electrical energy, and later provide thatelectrical energy to a consumer of electrical power.

The rechargeable battery system block diagram 200 depicts three batterysets, a battery set A 204, a battery set B 206, and a battery sent N208. These three battery sets are illustrated as an example and otherrechargeable battery systems are able to use any number of battery sets.The one or more batteries, battery sets, other energy storage devices,or combinations of these are generally referred to herein as a batterycombination. In general, a battery set is able to consist of one or morebatteries and is able to include multiple batteries that are able to beconnected so as to operate as a single energy storage device to receiveenergy to store and then later provide that energy to a load.

Each battery set in the rechargeable battery system block diagram 200has an associated monitor. Battery set A 204 is associated with amonitor A 214, battery set B 206 is associated with a monitor B 216, andbattery set N 208 is associated with a monitor N 218. In general, eachof these monitors determines a present remaining battery capacity forits associated battery. In the present discussion, remaining batterycapacity reflects degradation of the battery set and the reduction intotal energy that is able to be stored in a fully charged battery due toaging and repeated charging and discharge cycling. In an example,remaining battery capacity is expressed as a percentage of the totalenergy that the fully charged battery set is able to store relative tothe specification of a total amount of energy that battery set isspecified to store. In an example, this specification reflects theamount of energy the battery set could store when it was new. Examplesof a monitor suitable to operate as the monitor A 214, the monitor B216, or the monitor N 218, is described in commonly owned U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/095,693, entitled “STEP-TIME BATTERY DEGRADATIONDETERMINATION,” filed on Apr. 11, 2016, the entire contents andteachings of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Each battery set is connected in series with an associated currentcontrol device. Battery set A 204 is connected in series with a currentcontrol A 224, battery set B 206 is in series with current control B226, and battery set N 208 is in series with current control N 228. Ingeneral, each of these current control devices is able to be configuredto control an amount of electrical current flowing through itsassociated battery set as well as the direction of that current flow. Inan example, each current control device is able be configured to allowelectrical current to flow into its associated battery set in order tocharge that battery set, or to allow electrical current flow out of thebattery set in order to discharge that battery set and provide energystored in that battery set to be delivered to external systems as isdescribed below.

In various examples, these current control devices, such as currentcontrol A 224, current control B 226, or current control C 228, are ableto control current flow by any suitable technique. In some examples,these current control devices are able to switch current flow off and onfor determined intervals to achieve a total current flow over thesedetermined intervals that correspond to the configured current flow thatis to flow through its associated battery set. In some examples, thesecurrent control devices are able to set an output current limit thatcorresponds to the configured current flow for its associated batteryset. In general, these current control devices are able to use one orany combination of multiple current flow limiting operations to controlthe electrical current that flows through its associated battery.

The current control devices are each configured to receive electricalcurrent from, or provide electrical current to, an inverter 230. Theinverter 230 is an example of a power grid interface that couples theabove described battery combination with an electrical power grid. Theinverter 230 is able to be any suitable device that supports exchangingelectrical current between the battery sets of the rechargeable batterysystem block diagram 200 and external power systems such as theillustrated power grid 232. In a further example, the inverter 230 isable to act as a current control device for one or more battery sets. Insuch examples, one or more battery sets are connected to an inverterwithout an intervening current control device. Further, in someexamples, each battery set is able to be connected to its own inverter.

The rechargeable battery system block diagram 200 includes a totalcurrent control 234. The total current control 234 in an example is asource of a specification of a total amount of electrical current thatis to be provided by, or that is to be received, by the rechargeablebattery system illustrated in the rechargeable battery system blockdiagram 200. In various examples, the total current control 234 providesa specification of an amount of electrical current that the rechargeablebattery system is to provide to the illustrated power grid 232, aspecification of an amount of electrical current to be taken from thepower grid 232 for use in charging the battery sets of the rechargeablebattery system, a specification that the rechargeable battery system isto remain idle and not provide or receive any electrical energy to orfrom the power grid 232, any other specification, or combinations ofthese. In general, the total current control 234 is able to be anysuitable source of such control signals, such as a communicationsinterface to a remote controlling function, a processor that implementsvarious algorithm or applies other rules to various inputs to determinea total current control specification for the rechargeable batterysystem, other sources, or combinations of these.

The rechargeable battery system block diagram 200 includes a currentdivision controller 202 that provides control signals to each currentcontrol device, such as current control A 224, current control B 226,and current control N 228, to specify the individual amounts ofelectrical current that are to flow through each associated battery setand also the direction of that electrical current flow.

The current division controller 202 receives information regarding eachbattery set from the monitor associated with that battery set. Forexample, the illustrated current division controller 202 receives statuscharacterizations for battery set A 204 from monitor A 214, statuscharacterizations for battery set B 206 from monitor B 216, and statuscharacterizations for battery set N 208 from monitor N 218. Thesecharacterizations include but are not limited to, for example, thepresent state of health or capacity of each of these battery sets whichreflects the degradation to each of these battery sets over time due toage and use by charging and recharging. As is described below, thecurrent division controller 202 determines an amount of electricalcurrent that is to flow through each battery set and commands theassociated current control device to cause that amount of electricalcurrent to flow through its associated battery set.

FIG. 3 illustrates a rechargeable battery system control process 300,according to an example. This description of the rechargeable batterysystem control process 300 include references to the rechargeablebattery system block diagram 200 described above. The rechargeablebattery system control process 300 is an example of a process performedby the current division controller 202 described above. The rechargeablebattery system control process 300 in an example configures each batteryset in a rechargeable battery system to receive or provide a specifiedamount of electrical current based on its capacity relative to thecapacity of other battery sets in the rechargeable battery system.

The rechargeable battery system control process 300 beings by receiving,at 302, a state of health for each battery set. The state of health inan example is specified as a percentage of the total amount ofelectrical energy that is able to be stored in a particular battery setrelative to the total amount of electrical current specified for thatparticular battery set, such as the amount of energy it could store whenit was new and had not degraded due to time and use. In an example, thestate of health of each battery set is received from the monitorsdescribed above, such as monitor A 214, monitor B 216, or monitor N 218.

The rechargeable battery system control process 300 receives, at 304, atotal of electrical current amount specification that the rechargeablebattery system is to provide or receive. In an example this total amountof electrical current is specified by a source or algorithm. The totalcurrent control 234 described above is an example of a source from whichthis specification of the total amount of electrical current is able tobe received.

A portion of the received total electrical current amount to allocate toeach battery set in the rechargeable battery system is determined, at306. This allocation is able to be made based upon the state of healthof each battery set relative to other battery sets in the rechargeablebattery system.

In one example, the allocation of electrical current to each battery setis based on the present state of health or remaining capacity of eachbattery set relative to the state of health or remaining capacity of theother battery sets. In one example, the state of health of a battery setis specified as a percentage of total energy that the battery set ispresently able to store when filly charged as compared to aspecification of the amount of energy that battery set can store, suchas the amount of energy it could store when that battery set was new.For example, a 1,000 Amp-Hour battery set that has a present state ofhealth or present capacity of 80% will store 800 Amp-Hours when fullycharged.

The allocation of electrical current in one example is able to be basedon a simple proportion of the present capacity of each patter to a totalof all of the present capacity percentages for all of the battery sets.In an example, the electrical current to flow through a battery set A(I_(A))is given by an equation: I_(A)=I_(total)·SOH_(A)/ΣSOH_(i) whereI_(total) is the total amount of current to allocate to all batterysets, and ΣSOH_(i) is the sum of the SOH percentages for all batterysets. In this example, the denominator of this equation may be greaterthan 100.

Each battery set is then configured, at 308, to provide or receive itsdetermined portion of the total electrical current to be provided orreceived by the rechargeable battery system. In an example, configuringa particular battery set to provide this portion of electrical currentis perform by sending control signals to the current control device thatis in series with that particular battery set. For example, setting theamount of electrical current to be provided or received by battery set A204 is performed by controlling current control A 224 to cause thatportion of electrical current to flow through battery set A 204.

A determination is made, at 310, if the electrical current settings forthe battery sets are to be re-evaluated. This re-evaluation is able tobe based on, for example, receiving a new total electrical currentamount command, receiving a new estimate of state of health or capacityfor one or more battery sets, based on a configured time interval forre-evaluation of these parameters, based on any other event, or based oncombinations of these. If this determination repeats until it isdetermined that this re-evaluation is to be performed. Once thisre-evaluation is determined to be performed, the state of health of eachbattery set is determined, at 302, and the above described processing isrepeated.

FIG. 4 depicts an energy storage battery subsystem 400 according to oneexample. The energy storage battery subsystem 400 depicts aconfiguration of a single battery set, such as battery set A 204, inconjunction with an inverter 230 and its connection to the power grid232. The battery 402 in this example is able to be a single battery or acombination of several batteries connected to so as to operate and betreated as a single battery. In an example, the battery 402 isequivalent to one battery set such as those described above.

The battery 402 is connected to the inverter 230 through a currentcontroller 420 as is described above with regards to, for example,battery set A 204 and current control A 224. The inverter 230, asdescribed above, exchanges energy between the battery 402 and the powergrid 232. The power grid 232 in this example is an example of anexternal power system. The battery 402 in this example is able toperiodically provide electric power through the inverter 230 to thepower grid 232, or to a particular load or premises on the grid infurther examples, based upon a number of factors including demand andload management factors. The current controller 420 in an examplereceives a control 430 specifying the direction and amount of electricalcurrent that is to flow through the battery 402, and thus controls thecharging and discharging cycles of the battery 402.

The energy storage battery subsystem 400 includes a state of charge(SOC) monitor 408 that operates to monitor the operation of the battery402 and determine an estimate of the amount of charge in the battery,which corresponds to the energy remaining in the battery, at a giventime. The state of charge monitor 408 provides the present state ofcharge output 432 to any suitable destination.

The battery 402 in this example is connected in a parallel configurationwith a voltmeter 406. Voltmeter 406 measures and reports output voltagesof the battery 402. The voltmeter 406 is able to measure theinstantaneous voltage across the battery 402. The voltmeter 406 in thisexample reports the instantaneous output voltage of the battery to thestate of charge monitor 408. The battery 402 and voltmeter 406 in someexamples are able to be connected in a substantially parallelconfiguration and with either direct or indirect couplings. Indirectconnections are able to include, as an example, resistive components,reactive components, active components, or combinations of these.

The battery 402 is further connected in series with an ammeter 404. Theammeter 404 in an example continuously monitors the electrical currentpassing through the battery 402 and reports these readings to the stateof charge monitor 408. The battery 402 and ammeter 404 in one examplemay be in a substantially series configuration such that all or nearlyall of the current that passes through one component passing through theother.

The state of charge monitor 408 in one example is a dedicated processoror a computing process within a general purpose processor that receives,assembles and processes battery status data to determine or estimate thepresent state of charge of the battery 402. In an example, the state ofcharge monitor estimates the state of charge present in the battery isdetermined based on the battery output voltage measurements receivedfrom the voltmeter 406 and the electrical current measurements receivedfrom ammeter 404. In an example, electrical current drawn from orprovided to the battery 402 is integrated and this integrated value isused as a basis for determining the state of charge of the battery 402.

In an example, the state of charge monitor 408 is also able to determinethe charging state of the battery 402. The charging state of the battery402 in an example is able to be one of that the battery is in a state ofbeing charged, being discharged, or the battery is idle withoutappreciable current flowing therethrough. In an example, the chargingstate of the battery is able to be determined by the present directionof current flow through the battery 402, where current into the batteryindicates that the battery is being charge, current being drawn from thebattery indicates that the battery is being discharged, andsubstantially no current through the battery indicated that the batteryis idle.

As described above, the maximum amount of energy that a battery is ableto store when the battery is fully charged is referred to as thebattery's present capacity and decreases with usage and time. The stateof health of a battery refers to the amount of degradation in the amountof total energy that a battery is able to store, i.e., a reduction inthe battery capacity. The percentage of degradation is referred to abattery's “state of health.” A degradation model processor 410 is anexample of a state of health processor that determines the present stateof health of the battery 402. The degradation model processor 410 is anexample of a state of health (SOH) processor that is able to determinethe state of health (SOH), which is equivalent to the present capacity,of the battery 402. The degradation model processor 410 in variousexamples is able to use any technique to determine or estimate thepresent state of health, or remaining capacity, of the battery 402. Inan example, the state of charge monitor 408 provides both an indicationthe charging state of the battery 402 and the estimated present state ofcharge of the battery 402 to support a determination of the presentstate of health of the battery 402. The degradation model processor 410monitors the operation of the battery 402 as measured by the voltmeter406 and ammeter 404 over time and applies a degradation model usingthese measurements to determine the present remaining capacity of thebattery 402.

The state of charge monitor 408 and degradation model processor 410 bothmonitor, accumulate and process measured values and determined valuesand conditions over various time durations. The degradation modelprocessor 410 in an example determines the remaining capacity of thebattery 402 based on observed charging states and electrical currentflowing through the battery 402 over time. The energy storage batterysubsystem 400 includes a time source 412 to provide this time to thesecomponents to support their operation. An example of a degradation modelprocessor 410 is described in commonly owned U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/095,693, entitled “STEP-TIME BATTERY DEGRADATIONDETERMINATION” filed on Apr. 11, 2016, the entire contents and teachingsof which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIG. 5 illustrates an electrical current division operation 500,according to an example. The electrical current division operation 500illustrates how a total amount of electrical current is divided betweentwo batteries according to the relative capacity or state of health ofeach battery compared to the other. This description refers to twobatteries to simplify the description and presentation of the certainaspects. In general, these principles are able to be directly applied toany rechargeable battery system with any number of any suitable type ofbatteries including single batteries or battery sets consisting ofmultiple batteries.

The electrical current division operation 500 depicts how a totalelectrical current amount is divided between two batteries, a battery Aand a battery B. In this example, battery A is estimated to have a StateOf Health (SOH) of 80%. The SOH of 80% indicates that when battery A isfully charged, it stores only 80% of the total amount of energy that itcould store when it was fully charged when it was new. Battery B in thisexample is estimated to have an SOH of 50%.

In this example, the allocation of electrical current between the twobatteries is based on the ratio of the present capacity of each batteryto the total of the present capacity of both of these batteries. Giventhe above described capacities of battery A and battery B being 80% and50%, respectively, the total of these capacities is 220. Using theallocation technique described above with regards to energy storagebattery subsystem 400, battery A has an allocation of 80/120 or ⅔ timesthe total electrical current for the rechargeable battery system.Battery B has an allocation of 50/120, or ⅓ times the total electricalcurrent for the rechargeable battery system. It is clear that thisproportion is able to be calculated in further examples using any numberof batteries.

Any operation of a respective current controller for battery A andbattery B can be used to cause these amounts of electrical current topass through these batteries. An electrical current flow diagram 502depicts the operation of an “on-off” current controller for each ofbattery A and battery B in this example. In the illustrated example, therechargeable battery system is to provide an electrical current T to aninverter and out to power consumers. This total electrical currentamount T is allocated between battery A and battery B according to therelative capacities of these batteries as is described below. Thisillustrated example is provided as one example of a technique toallocate electrical current between two batteries. In general, any othersuitable technique is able to be used.

The horizontal axis of the electrical current flow diagram 502 depicts atime scale with time marks indicating uniform time intervals. Timeinterval 0 530 depicts time 0, time interval 1 532 depicts time 1, timeinterval 2 534 depicts time 2, time interval 3 536 depicts time 3, timeinterval 4 538 depicts time 4, and time interval 5 540 depicts time 5.The vertical axis indicates electrical current being provided by eachbattery. Current flow for battery A is shown to vary between an offlevel 522, where i=0, and an on level 520, where i=T. Electrical currentflow for battery B is also shown to vary between an off level 526, wherei=0, and an on level 524, where i=T.

The electrical current flow diagram 502 depicts a battery A current flowvs time 504 and a battery B current flow vs. time 506. In this example,each of battery A and battery B are configured to alternately have thetotal amount of electrical current that is specified to flow through therechargeable battery system. The time intervals that each batteryprovides this current is varied to allocate the average amount ofcurrent flowing through each battery according to the determinedallocation.

The battery A current flow vs time 504 indicates that battery Aprovides, during a first phase 510, the total amount of current (T) fortwo time intervals, i.e., from time 0 530 to time 2 534. Battery Aprovides no current during a second phase 512 between time 2 534 andtime 3 536. Battery A then continues to provide current T during a thirdphase 514 for two time intervals between time 3 536 and time 5 540.

The battery B current flow vs time 506 indicates that battery B providesno electrical current for two time intervals, from time 0 530 to time 2534, during a first phase 516. Battery B provides current T for one timeinterval during a second phase 518 between time 2 534 and time 3 536.Battery B then provides no current during a third phase 519 for two timeintervals between time 3 536 and time 5 540.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram illustrating a controller 600according to an example. The controller 600 is an example of aprocessing subsystem that is able to perform any of the above describedprocessing operations, control operations, other operations, orcombinations of these.

The controller 600 in this example includes a CPU 604 that iscommunicatively connected to a main memory 606 (e.g., volatile memory),a non-volatile memory 612 to support processing operations. The CPU isfurther communicatively coupled to a network adapter hardware 616 tosupport input and output communications with external computing systemssuch as through the illustrated network 630.

The controller 600 further includes a data input/output (I/O) processor614 that is able to be adapted to communicate with any type ofequipment, such as the illustrated system components 628. The datainput/output (I/O) processor in various examples is able to beconfigured to support any type of data communications connectionsincluding present day analog and/or digital techniques or via a futurecommunications mechanism. A system bus 618 interconnects these systemcomponents.

Information Processing System

The present subject matter can be realized in hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software. A system can be realized in acentralized fashion in one computer system, or in a distributed fashionwhere different elements are spread across several interconnectedcomputer systems. Any kind of computer system—or other apparatus adaptedfor carrying out the methods described herein—is suitable. A typicalcombination of hardware and software could be a general purpose computersystem with a computer program that, when being loaded and executed,controls the computer system such that it carries out the methodsdescribed herein.

The present subject matter can also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which—when loaded in a computersystem—is able to carry out these methods. Computer program in thepresent context means any expression, in any language, code or notation,of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having aninformation processing capability to perform a particular functioneither directly or after either or both of the following a) conversionto another language, code or, notation; and b) reproduction in adifferent material form.

Each computer system may include, inter alia, one or more computers andat least a computer readable medium allowing a computer to read data,instructions, messages or message packets, and other computer readableinformation from the computer readable medium. The computer readablemedium may include computer readable storage medium embodyingnon-volatile memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, diskdrive memory, CD-ROM, and other permanent storage. Additionally, acomputer medium may include volatile storage such as RAM, buffers, cachememory, and network circuits. Furthermore, the computer readable mediummay comprise computer readable information in a transitory state mediumsuch as a network link and/or a network interface, including a wirednetwork or a wireless network, that allow a computer to read suchcomputer readable information. In general, the computer readable mediumembodies a computer program product as a computer readable storagemedium that embodies computer readable program code with instructions tocontrol a machine to perform the above described methods and realize theabove described systems.

Non-Limiting Examples

Although specific embodiments of the subject matter have been disclosed,those having ordinary skill in the art will understand that changes canbe made to the specific embodiments without departing from the spiritand scope of the disclosed subject matter. The scope of the disclosureis not to be restricted, therefore, to the specific embodiments, and itis intended that the appended claims cover any and all suchapplications, modifications, and embodiments within the scope of thepresent disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for allocating electrical current amongbattery sets connected in a substantially parallel configuration, themethod comprising: receiving a respective state of health for eachrespective battery set in a plurality of battery sets, the respectivestate of health reflecting a respective present amount of total energyable to be stored by each respective battery set relative to aspecification of the respective battery set; determining, based on therespective state of health for each respective battery set, a respectiveallocation of electrical current for each battery set in the pluralityof battery sets; and configuring, based on determining the respectiveallocation, an electrical current flow through each respective batteryset to its respective allocation of electrical current.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising exchanging the electrical current with anelectrical power grid, and wherein the plurality of battery setscomprise at least one repurposed battery, each at least one repurposedbattery having been used in an application different from exchangingelectrical current with an electrical power grid.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein the plurality of battery sets is part of a batterycombination, the battery combination comprising at least: a firstbattery set having a first state of health when the battery combinationis assembled; and a second battery having a second state of health whenthe battery combination is assembled, the second state of health beingdifferent than the first state of health.
 4. The method of claim 2,wherein the application comprises providing electrical energy for anelectrically powered vehicle.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereindetermining the respective state of health for each respective batteryset is based upon a combination of a number of charging and dischargingcycles of each respective battery set and an age of each respectivebattery set.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving aspecification of least one of: a total amount of electrical current toreceive from an external power system for charging the plurality ofbattery sets, or a total amount of electrical current to provide to theexternal power system, and wherein the respective allocation ofelectrical current for each battery set is a respective percentage ofthe total amount of electrical current.
 7. The method of claim 1,further comprising: coupling the plurality of battery sets to anexternal power grid through an inverter; and exchanging, based on therespective allocation, electrical power between the external power gridand each battery set in the plurality of battery sets .
 8. An apparatusfor controlling electrical current allocated to a plurality of batterysets, the apparatus comprising: a current division controller that, whenoperating: receives a respective state of health for each respectivebattery set in a plurality of battery sets, the respective state ofhealth reflecting a respective present amount of total energy able to bestored by each respective battery set relative to a specification of therespective battery set; determines, based on the respective state ofhealth for each respective battery set, a respective allocation ofelectrical current for each battery set in the plurality of batterysets; and configures, based on a determination of the respectiveallocation, a respective electrical current flow through each respectivebattery set to its respective allocation of electrical current.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 8, further comprising: a battery combinationcomprising at least one repurposed battery; and a power grid interfacecoupling the battery combination with an electrical power grid, whereineach at least one repurposed battery had been used in an applicationdifferent from exchanging electrical current with an electrical powergrid.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the battery combinationcomprises: a first battery set having a first state of health when thebattery combination is assembled; and a second battery having a secondstate of health when the battery combination is assembled, the secondstate of health being different than the first state of health.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 9, wherein the application comprises providingelectrical energy for an electrically powered vehicle.
 12. The apparatusof claim 8, further comprising a state of health processor that, whenoperating, determines the respective state of health for each respectivebattery set based upon a number of charging and discharging cycles ofeach respective battery set.
 13. The apparatus of claim 8, furthercomprising a state of health processor that, when operating, determinesthe respective state of health for each respective battery set basedupon a combination of a number of charging and discharging cycles ofeach respective battery set and an age of each respective battery set.14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the current division controller,when operating, further receives a specification of: at least one of: atotal amount of electrical current to receive from an external powersystem for charging the plurality of battery sets, or a total amount ofelectrical current to provide to the external power system, and whereinthe respective allocation of electrical current for each battery set isa respective percentage of the total amount of electrical current. 15.The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising: an inverter coupling theplurality of battery sets to an external power grid, and wherein theinverter, when operating, exchanges, based on the respective allocation,electrical power between the external power grid and each battery set inthe plurality of battery sets .
 16. A computer program product forcontrolling electrical current allocated to a plurality of battery sets,the computer program product comprising: a computer readable storagemedium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, thecomputer readable program code comprising instructions for: receiving arespective state of health for each respective battery set in aplurality of battery sets, the respective state of health reflecting arespective present amount of total energy able to be stored by eachrespective battery set relative to a specification of the respectivebattery set; determining, based on the respective state of health foreach respective battery set, a respective allocation of electricalcurrent for each battery set in the plurality of battery sets; andconfiguring, based on determining the respective allocation, a currentflow through each respective battery set to its respective allocation ofelectrical current.
 17. The computer program product of claim 16,wherein the plurality of battery sets exchange electrical power with anelectrical power grid, and wherein the plurality of battery setscomprise at least one repurposed battery, each at least one repurposedbattery having been used in an application different from exchangingelectrical current with an electrical power grid.
 18. The computerprogram product of claim 17, wherein the plurality of battery sets arepart of an battery combination, the battery combination comprising atleast: a first battery set having a first state of health when thebattery combination is assembled; and a second battery having a secondstate of health when the battery combination is assembled, the secondstate of health being different than the first state of health.
 19. Thecomputer program product of claim 17, wherein the application comprisesproviding electrical energy for an electrically powered vehicle.
 20. Thecomputer program product of claim 16, wherein the computer readableprogram code further comprising instructions for receiving aspecification of: at least one of: a total amount of electrical currentto receive from an external power system for charging the plurality ofbattery sets, and wherein the respective allocation of electricalcurrent for each battery set is a respective percentage of the totalamount of electrical current.